Various types of floor cleaning implements are known in the art. For example, vacuum cleaners are often used to clean dry debris, and wet extractors are often used to apply and remove a cleaning fluid to help clean floors and other surfaces. Vacuums and extractors typically use an electric vacuum source and some form of debris containment chamber. Extractors also have a fluid supply, and may be specially adapted to remove fluid from the surface being cleaned.
Other types of floor cleaners are also known. For example, mops and brooms are well-known in the art. In addition, such simple devices are sometimes provided with replaceable cleaning pads, vacuum sources, and other features to increase their functionality.
Various problems exist with conventional cleaning devices. For example, known wet extractors often require numerous back and forth passes to clean a surface. Additionally, known wet extractors often leave moisture on the surface, which may create a slipping hazard, promote mold growth, or cause other problems. Moreover, known wet extractors are often bulky, in many cases do not satisfactorily clean all flooring types, and are unable to satisfactorily pickup debris and fluid deposited in corners of a room. Other devices, such as mops or cleaning wands that use replaceable cleaning pads, are light and easy to manipulate, but place the burden on the user to apply repetitive motion to clean the surface. Such devices also typically do not have a vacuum source and can leave a substantial amount of debris on the floor after use.
The present invention provides unique alternatives to known cleaning devices, and various new and useful features that may be used with otherwise conventional cleaning devices.